2020, Bible, Scripture, Scripture Sundays, Sunday Musings

Sunday Musings: Praise You in this Storm

by LumberInMyMiniVanLeave a Comment on Sunday Musings: Praise You in this Storm

Everyone has a song that holds some sort of special meaning for them. It may be a song that is tied to a happy memory or a song that is tied to a sad memory. For us, it’s a little of everything.

“Praise you in this storm” by Casting Crowns will always have a special meaning to my family. It’s a song about how God is always with you no matter what, and there are moments in our life that we know without a doubt God was with us.

“Praise You In This Storm” by Casting Crowns

Several years ago, we were blessed to meet the family who inspired the song. We met a man whose daughter had passed away from leukemia. His daughter’s illness, death, and the family’s grief inspired the song. He shared that his daughter knew the band was writing a song about her but she passed away before she was able to hear it.

My mom downloaded the song as her ringtone, but with no way of knowing what that song would eventually mean to us.

About a year and a half later, my dad was diagnosed with cancer. After a rough four years filled with surgery, treatments and sickness, he passed away at age 54.

We were devastated at the time and even more than two years later, we still miss him terribly. Looking back on his illness and his death I can think of many occasions when I knew, in spite of everything, God never left our sides.

He was with us as we struggled to navigate a new life without my dad. He was with us as I faced crippling anxiety and depression. He was with us as we grieved.

No matter what trials we face and how many years we shed, God is with us and He knows we are suffering. He also restores us and heals us when we go through those trials. He knows why we suffer and He holds us as we suffer.

Source

What song holds special meaning for you?

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2020, family, photography, travel, traveling

Life with the Lumbers: What we’ve been up to!

by LumberInMyMiniVanLeave a Comment on Life with the Lumbers: What we’ve been up to!

This past weekend, we went to The Mountain State to see my grandmother and my aunts, uncles, and cousins. We didn’t get to see some of my more extended family but we will return in about a month to visit again.

We even got to see a little bit of snow while we were there. It wasn’t enough to play in but it was a lot of fun.

My girls dressed alike and looked adorable when we went to church with my grandmother. The littlest lumber didn’t want to participate in the photo festivities. 🤷‍♀️

We ate the most delicious meal at Savory Flavors in Bluefield, V.A.

And I found this sign that pretty much sums up my existence.

We played an antler ring toss game that had everybody cracking up.

And I managed to do something I’ve never done- walk out of Hobby Lobby empty handed. Not that I didn’t find a lot of things I wanted. I am just trying to be more intentional with my spending. I also didn’t want to buy something that might not survive the trip home.

We had a blast but we surely miss our family now. We will see them again soon.

2020, Blogging, DIY, finances, home management, priorities, project planning, projects, simplify, simplify saturdays, simplifying life, spending less, thrifty decor

Home Improvement: Things To Consider When Planning Projects

by LumberInMyMiniVanLeave a Comment on Home Improvement: Things To Consider When Planning Projects
Home Improvement: Things To Consider When Planning Projects

We’ve been blogging here for a good five years now, and in that time, we’ve had a lot of questions from readers. One question we’re often asked is this: “You all seem to always be doing something to your house. How do you do so much?” Today I’d like to share how we prioritize our projects.

1. Do projects a little at a time

We just did a small remodel of our master bathroom. We replaced mirrors, hardware and light fixtures. We eventually plan to replace the bathtub and surround and flooring as well, but it simply isn’t in the budget right now. So we started with the cheapest, easiest items on our “master bath to-do list” and we completed those.

2. Find cheaper options for the things you want to do

We love carriage house garage doors, but we neither need nor want to buy a $2,000 garage door at the moment… so we took to Amazon and ordered faux Coach house door hardware and a faux window kit for $50. We spent far less money something that looks like the real deal.

3. If you can DIY it, do it.

Custom closets are expensive, but my dad and I built this closet organizer ourselves for $100. It only took one day and it was a fairly simple project. We saved a lot of money by doing it ourselves AND it was a lot of fun.

4. Before you do any part of the project, ask yourself these questions:

1. Who will it benefit?

If it’s something that will benefit everyone in the home, bump the project up higher on your to do list.

2. Can I do the project in phases, or must I do it all at once?

If a project must be done all at once, but it’s small, it’s probably OK to raise it on your list. If it’s a big project and you can’t do it in phases, it’s probably expensive and should be lower on your priority list.

3. Do I need to do it, or just want to?

Projects that you want to do, no matter how much you want to do them, are never as important as the projects you need to do.

5. Save money for the things you can’t afford right now

Even if you can’t afford the things you want at the moment, save money until you have what you need.

How do you all prioritize projects?

Have a wonderful weekend.

2020, New beginnings, Social media, what's new, YouTube content

BIG NEWS!

by LumberInMyMiniVan2 Comments on BIG NEWS!

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I’ve been sitting on this one for awhile and now I can finally share! And before you ask, no. It’s not a new baby.

WE ARE GETTING A YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

In fact, you can click on the link above to watch our new intro. It’s not a huge deal, as we probably wont post more than two videos a month. We do both still work outside the home, ya know. Most of my videos are going to be DIY projects and a few parenting related things, but nothing too outrageous. And much to my oldest daughter’s disappointment, we won’t be a YouTube vlogger family.

We may, in fact, have a few giveaways via video, and even a few opportunities for you all to participate.

We hope you will check us out and even subscribe! Have a fantastic and wonderful weekend!

2020, holidays

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

by LumberInMyMiniVanLeave a Comment on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

MLKJ

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dream and desire for equality and unity, get out and do something kind for someone else today. We will resume regular schedule on Wednesday.

Have a wonderful day!